A loyalist of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda and four-time former legislator, Uday Bhan was on Wednesday named the Haryana Congress chief in place of Kumari Selja.
Announcing the revamp of the state organisation, an official statement by the Congress said party president Sonia Gandhi has accepted the resignation of Kumari Selja from the post of president, Haryana Congress with immediate effect.
It said Congress president has also appointed the president and the working presidents of Haryana Congress with immediate effect.
While Bhan has been named as president of the state unit, Haryana Congress will also have four working presidents – Shruti Choudhry, Ram Kishan Gujjar, Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj and Suresh Gupta.
A Dalit leader, Bhan got elected to the Haryana Assembly thrice from Hassanpur constituency in 1987, 2000 and 2005. After delimitation, he was elected once from Hodal constituency in 2014.
Party sources said with Bhan’s appointment, the party hopes to appease Hooda, who remains the party’s strongest leader in Haryana and represents the influential Jat community, has been
demanding Selja’s ouster for long.
As the outgoing Haryana Congress chief was a Dalit, the party hopes Bhan’s appointment will help escape Dalit community’s outrage over Selja’s removal.